pomp and circumstance
by i used to be golden
Summary: They didn't know what horrors or tragedies would happen next. But they did know one thing. That they'd fight beside each other for as long as forever. - Massie/Derrick


Prompts – skylar grey's love the way you lie part 3

Title - pomp and circumstance (marches on war)

_pomp and circumstance_

**on the first page of our story, the future seemed so bright**

Its seventh grade and its Massie's first day. She can't help but feel nervous, even though she's going to be the most popular girl, even though her best friends are right behind her. She's scared of the future and what chances and new beginnings it will bring.

Slowly she slides out of bed and surveys her clothes spread out on the foot of her bed. It's simple, but it gets the message across: don't fuck with me. Stripping out of her night gown she adorns the sheer flowing high-low dress and clasped the studded belt around her thin waist. A black pair of Chanel sunglasses ties the look together. All brand name, all Massie.

In the mirror she sees this: an average height willowy girl with auburn-brown waves and amber eyes. Massie Block, the girl everyone wants to be and everyone secretly hates. She's beautiful and she knows it. Stepping into a pair of black heels she turns to the mirror, seeking its opinion.

Massie's nervous, but the figure in the mirror says confident.

She struts this way and that and purses her lips. Contrary to popular belief, Massie doesn't think she's perfect. She hates the way her thighs look when she sits down, she hates the way her hair looks when wet and sometimes she hates her attitude.

Yes, she does have regrets for the things she says. Funny, right? Popular, cool, collected Massie, it would be quite the scandal to hear the ice queen bitch doesn't really think she's all that.

Basically, it's all a front. She hides beyond make up and bitchy attitude; brand name clothes and sky high wedges. To Massie, to show a flaw was to show weakness and if there was one thing she hated it was definitely weakness.

And all of a sudden she feels weak and desperate and maybe she's not ready for this, but her mother calls her and it's time to go. So up goes the walls and fortresses that guard her, and she gets ready for battle.

_(I love the way you lie)_

The first day of the seventh grade is also the first day Massie might be in love. It's the first day she sees him. It sounds like a cliché, but Derrick Harrington really does make the butterflies in her stomach go away.

He has dark blond hair, layers splayed out messily. His dimples and easy going smile are the first things Massie notices.

And she likes the things she notices.

**then this thing turned out so evil, I don't know why I'm still surprised**

So the school year goes on and on and one and finally (finally!) he asks her out.

Yes, Derrick Harrington asks the ice queen out. She's surprised, but not, at the same time. He's the first boy, really, that she's ever hoped and wished to the night sky to ask her. Massie can't help it…a part of her falls in love with him. She knows, she knows that it's not good news and that she should be worried, but she doesn't care.

Massie's heart loses a piece of it to Derrick Harrington.

Things are great, things are fine and then it all goes to shit. Two months. Two months of dating is all they get before everything was ruined. Two months filled with sweet cheek kisses, candy deliveries and the cat calls of "awe, so sweet" as they walk hand in hand down the hallway.

And Massie knows good things never last, so why is she so hurt?

Because she thought that maybe Derrick's heart would love a bit of her back. Because she thought they would withstand anything. Because when you're in love everything hurts.

And when you're in love, seeing your boyfriend snog your best friend might as well kill you.

Massie cries because she thought everything was perfect. Because first loves aren't supposed to do that. First loves are supposed to fizzle out and become strangers; first loves are not supposed to cheat on you with your best friend.

And Dylan – what the hell was she thinking? She knew Massie was in love with him. She knew Massie thought all the stars and constellations spelt out his name. She knew what she did would kill her.

But that didn't stop her.

So maybe Massie should've known that things would never be perfect. This was karma, karma from all the hurtful words and evil things she's ever said about anyone. This was karma coming back to drown her because of all the spiteful jealous things she's done.

And when Massie steps back and thinks a little, she's not surprised. She obviously deserves this, and so she lets the pain take over.

She drowns in her sorrows and there's no Derrick to give her a helping hand. There's no one to pull her out of her depression. Massie drowns into herself.

But only for a day. Because Massie's showing weakness and it was the one thing she promised herself she'd never do. So she pulls herself back together and tightens her mask and keeps all her cracks of pain tied down with lipstick and false eyelashes.

She won't let this happen again.

**but you'll always be my hero, even though you've lost your mind**

So the school year passes and life goes on at OCD. Eighth grade Massie stays as alpha of the Pretty Committee. She doesn't punish Dylan; she doesn't so much as speak to her. That is, after all, the worst punishment: being ignored. But this is middle school and already it is filled with popularity contests and back stabbing friends. To acknowledge it would to be showing weakness.

And Massie hates weakness.

So she hates herself, especially when she can't sleep at night. She blames Derrick who haunts her in her dreams. She's afraid to go to bed because of fear she'll see him. And if Massie sees Derrick the dam will break and the tears will flow and she won't be able to keep her heart from breaking even more.

And that stupid, stupid part of herself that fell in love won't fall out of love. A part of her will always love him. Massie hates this weakness. If it were possible to cut off Derrick from her life, like she was a tree and he was a branch, she would. She'd do anything to forget about him.

Because he maybe kind of really saved her that first day she saw him. He helped Massie forget, for just a moment, about being worried from her fears of the future. Just those eyes, mocha brown, could make her mesmerized and addicted.

Derrick had been her little slice of innocence, and he'd always be her hero, even if she hated it.

_(I love the way you lie)_

Derrick can't sleep. It's like he's losing his mind over her – Massie. So he fucked her over and now he cannot get over it. _It was supposed to be funny_, he thinks_, they said it would be_. So how come it isn't funny? How come he can't get over her, no matter how hard he tries?

Because maybe a part of him maybe kind of really likes her.

"_It's just a joke_!" He can hear Kemp's voice, mocking and cackling.

"_Do it, man, it'll be funny_," that's Josh, jeering him on from the edges of his world.

"_I don't know… Why would you do it? You might really hurt her, you know_," and then there's Cam, the one Derrick should have listened to.

DAMMIT, and Derrick slams a fist down on the wooden table he sits at. Cereal sloshes over the edges of his bowl and he watches the milk drip drip drip onto the table, going into grooves of wood so tiny and invisible.

Derrick realizes that the grooves are his heart. Without his knowledge, love for Massie has been seeping inside his heart. And now he knows.

**now there's gravel in our voices, glasses shattered in the fight**

It's one in the morning and Massie stares at the blaring black and white TV screen. The girl had always admired the way things were back then. Granted, there were no mass shopping malls but they kept it simple: your first loves stayed forever with you.

That's what Massie wants. So a couple tears slip down her pale, porcelain cheeks and she wonders if nothing will ever be right.

She's scared out of her wits by the huge thuds coming outside her house. Cracking her bedroom door open she sees the doorman, arguing with a slightly familiar voice.

Derrick Harrington is outside her house, begging to be let in.

"Please," she can hear his voice from downstairs, drifting up to her. His voice is all gravel, all up and down and husky and warm and so, so familiar.

"Derrick?" His name slips from her mouth.

He looks up at his Juliet, standing by the balcony overlooking the front door. Her hair is all tangles and knots and tears, and her face is all red and tearstained and maybe just the slightest bit happy. He is all wet from the rain and his eyes are desperate. He drinks in her appearance and she's still the prettiest thing in this world.

"I messed up!" He yells, as the doorman tries to shove him back out. "The thing with Dylan was a fluke. I never, _NEVER_, wanted to hurt you."

And then she's so flustered she doesn't know what to do. Really, what she wants is to fly towards him and embrace him. But at the same time she wants to scream her head off, because honestly he cannot come back to her looking for second chances.

"Yeah? Are you sure about that?" She sneers, covering up her inner insecurities. "Go back to Dylan. I'm over you, Derrick."

"Massie!" He's desperate for her to listen. "I love you. I love the way you make me stay up on the phone. I love the fact you always end up falling asleep. I love the way your voice sounds at one in the morning. I love how you come to every soccer game and you don't care who hears you screaming my name. It's you. It's always been you."

And another part of Massie Block's heart falls in love with Derrick Harrington.

**in this tug of war, you always win, even when i'm right**

They do, in the end, get back together. And this time they do it properly. Derrick doesn't flirt with anyone other than his girlfriend, Massie. He buys her flowers and candy hearts and he looks at her adoringly. Everyone thinks they are the cutest thing in the world.

Massie is happy, but her heart is also heavily guarded. She knows what love can do to you, she knows how much it can hurt. And so she protects herself against Cupid and his flimsy arrows and doesn't let herself fall even more in love with him.

In fact, she starts to pick out things in him that annoy her. Well, she really hates those shorts he's always wearing. Why, exactly, does he have to look at her every time he saves a goal? It's also annoying how he's always trying to hug her….

And then spring rolls around and Massie decides to do it. It's late at night and they're hanging by the stables just talking and finally the moment happens.

"Derrick, I don't think it's working out," she says.

"What?" He gasps. He'd been totally oblivious to her feelings leading up to this. He'd thought Massie Block had loved him back.

"Look, I don't want to date you. You're more like a dog than a boyfriend," Massie's voice is flat.

Derrick blinks back tears and anger. God, he loves Massie more than anything. He was trying to do everything for her. He wants her to see the stars.

"I do it because I thought that's what you wanted," Derrick says, his voice more aggressive than he wants it to be. "I do everything I do for you."

And Massie is shaking and she can't look at him and Derrick is grasping her arms in his and looking for those amber eyes. She evades his looks and instead settles for staring at the ground, letting crystal tear drops drop to the dark green blades of grass. She watches as it slides down a blade.

"Please, don't love me," she whimpers, "I can't love anything properly. I…I don't think I'm capable of love."

"Yeah?" Derrick whispers. "Well too bad."

And he steps forward underneath stable lights and in the smell of hickory hay and the scent of Chanel No. 9, he kisses her.

It's her first kiss and it's sweet and now Massie's armour peels off of her and she allows herself to be in love with her first love: Derrick Harrington. His arms circle around her waist and she flings pale, thin arms around his neck. He's so warm and Massie's so cold and she relishes the feel of him against her.

**and it's sick that all these battles are what keeps me satisfied**

"Omigod, Derrick, you're, like, the best goalie ever!" A blond girl squeals at Derrick. He smiles absent mindedly before scanning the crowd, searching for his girl.

His girl. He feels a rush when he thinks about Massie being his girl. The coolest, most beautiful, smart, funny, sarcastic girl at OCD was his. A hand pulls at his jersey and he looks down, curious. Oh. It's that blond girl again and she's pouting and she wants his attention.

"Can I have your number?" She raises an eyebrow seductively.

"I have a girlfriend," he says.

"Who cares? I can be your 'friend'," she hisses. She winks at him before batting his arm playfully.

Derrick's in a daze. What is she doing? When he says he has a girlfriend…he has a girlfriend. Looking past the girl's head he sees honey coloured locks of hair moving further away from him. Upon closer inspection: it's Massie.

Honey hair, pale face, amber eyes and a lithe figure is Massie. He thanks whatever higher being made him realize that Massie was his only girl. Made him realize that he loves her.

His legs are churning and churning and finally he skids to a stop beside her. A whiff of Chanel No. 9 floats past him and he sucks in. Yup, that's Massie.

But Massie keeps walking, simply pulling her sunglasses down to rest on her tiny up turned nose.

"Mass," Derrick pleads, the girl's only like this when something pisses her off.

"What do you want Derrington?" She spits.

"You," he says, truthfully.

"Go back to your little play date," Massie sniffs and walks on.

"You should know by now," he says keeping up with her, "that you're the only girl for me."

"Are you sure about that?" Massie pauses.

"Yeah."

"Prove it to me."

So Derrick's arms are around her waist and he's lifting her up. Her legs curl around his waist and she looks into those eyes that calmed everything. Those eyes that saved her. And then Massie feels his lips touch hers and she's in total utter bliss.

They didn't know what the future would bring. They didn't know what horrors or tragedies would happen next. But they did know one thing. That they'd fight beside each other for as long as forever.

* * *

I hate this piece so much it was so hard but easy atthe same time idk if its good or bad but thank u for editing one hundred sleepless nights. 33

plz review because i worked my butt off


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